


when juno steel finally shuts the hell up

by Squidbitch



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Character Study, Domestic Violence, Flashbacks, Nonverbal Communication, Other, brief mentions of stimming, id call this a 5 +1 thing much it's very decidedly not?, juno goes nonverbal a lot which is basically the premise of this fic, kinda i think, lots of comfort, panic attacks (not often), when Juno was still with the hcpd he was Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:49:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26182186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squidbitch/pseuds/Squidbitch
Summary: Sometimes Juno can't speak no matter how badly he wants to.orSome snippets of nonverbal Antics.(trigger warnings will be added at the beginning of each chapter)
Relationships: Benzaiten Steel & Juno Steel, Buddy Aurinko & Juno Steel, Juno Steel & Vespa (Penumbra Podcast), Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel, Rita & Juno Steel
Comments: 31
Kudos: 242





	1. Benzaiten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the times Benzaiten sees Juno while he's nonverbal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings!! Please read these before you go onto the story!  
> -child abuse  
> -implied drug use  
> -being nonverbal (aka, not being able to talk)  
> -emeto (feeling sick)  
> please tell me if there are any i've forgotten!

**_Benzaiten_ **

Juno loves going down to the sewers and seeing the rabbits. They've never been aggressive with him, which could be because Juno met them when he was a child, and they’ve tried to take care of him. Maybe it’s just because rabbits aren’t as aggressive as everyone seems to think. Though that isn’t the only reason Juno likes being around them. There are a great many reasons. They are big and protective of their own, if Ma ever came down there, then she’d never get to him. They’re very soft, and so warm after long weeks where they don’t have heating. There’s also the fact that they never really talk. They never communicate with Juno much outside of grunts, pointing, or the occasional sniffing at him. Normally he’s the one who talks out of them. Though when he doesn’t, it’s never a big deal. They know, kind of, how to talk, and they understand him well enough, but it’s never really been a requirement. It’s always been nice to have somewhere to go when he’s like this. 

He can’t stay there forever, though. He starts to miss the sun through the dome, his friends, but mostly Benzaiten. He never comes down into the sewers with him. They’re both eighteen now, and Benten has still never been down there. 

So he comes back up to the surface, and his voice is still trapped inside his chest. It’s been like this since last night, when he left, and he hates it. He hates it so much he seethes, gets angrier and angrier. He feels like a ticking bomb. He feels like screaming in frustration and lashing out, but he can’t. Even if he could possibly get out a noise louder than a squeak, he wouldn’t, and he wouldn’t lash out. Instead, he stuffs his frustration down into his chest, and walks back home. 

When he crawls through the unlocked window of Benten and his room, Benten is already standing there, taking off the dance shoes Sasha got him for their birthday. “Juno!” He says happily, like he really does like seeing him. Part of Juno wants to shrink so small that he never has to look at him and smile ever again. Part of him wants to hug him hard, and cry his eyes out. Instead he just stands there for a moment. “Gosh, you always know how to worry me. Were you down in the sewers again?”

Juno nods, and feels a strong desire to punch himself in the face. He can’t even tell Benten a simple goddamn “ _ yes _ ”. 

“Oh.” He says, finally understanding. “Why don’t you go take a shower, you smell terrible. Mom isn’t home yet, so you can do whatever.”

_ Where the hell is she then?  _ Juno wants to ask.  _ Getting more pills or screaming down some poor cashier again?  _ He knows Benten would just say something like,  _ “Or… maybe she was looking for a job!” _ Not stupid, not even sure, just hopeful. Optimistic, a trait Juno might have had too, if things were different. If he were a different guy, a little better, and a little worse.

He just nods again, if Sarah isn’t here right now, then he can leave his room safely, and take a shower. He avoids looking at himself the entire time, and does so as quickly as possible. Nausea builds in him, but he gets all the grime off of him, and that’s what's important. 

When he gets dressed, and sits back down in his room, he sighs. He tries very briefly to talk to Benten, but all that comes out is a silent puff of air. When he was younger, maybe around nine or ten, he thought he would grow out of this, that one day it wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Obviously, he was wrong.

Benten smiles kindly at him. “Hey, Supersteel, don’t strain yourself. We can talk later.”

That’s even worse. Juno doesn’t  _ want _ to talk later, he wants to talk  _ now. _ He hates this. It shouldn’t be a strain on him to speak, it shouldn’t take everything in him to utter a squeak, much less speak. “Juno,” Benten says. His name, only his name, only says that when he’s angry or serious. He smiles a little wider just to show him he’s not mad, and Juno hates himself for it. “It’s okay that you can’t talk right now, it happens. I get it. Look, right now, you look like hell. You can beat yourself up later, but right now you gotta eat something.

Guilt crawls through Juno like infection. He holds his arms close to his body as nausea builds inside him. Just the thought of eating something makes him sick. Not when he’s like this. Not when he doesn’t deserve the small amount of food they have in the first place. He shakes his head, and Benten sighs. “Okay, fine, Supersteel. You can wait until later. How about you try to get some rest, you look like you’ve hardly slept, man.” 

In truth, he’s gotten a lot of rest. The rabbits make a point to warm him up, Juno guesses that they’re much kinder to their own kin than Sarah ever could be, and they’re all big enough to be a queen sized mattress if they wanted to, not that Juno’s seen one in real life quite yet. Though he normally just lays on them, and feels a little comfort. It’s way too difficult to try to sleep if he isn’t drunk, high, or Benten isn’t with him. He’s tired, so exhausted. 

“Lay down, I’ll be right here.”

So he does. He lays down on the bed, and pulls their scarce blankets around himself. Benten sits beside him, doesn’t touch him. Laying there with Benten, staring at the wall, hearing him hum along to a tune he’s probably choreographing. He’s writing or doodling something in a small notebook. Dance steps, or something. Somehow, he feels different than an hour ago.  


Benten may be named after a different goddess, but right now, “protector” seems to fit perfectly. Juno wants to tell him he loves him, that he’s sorry. 

Instead, he feels a hole in his chest. It feels as home as anything right there, and somehow, with Benten he still gets this overlapping emotion of safety. As if there's any haven or safety in this house. As if that’s anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> commenting very epic pls do that


	2. Rita

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rita's first time seeing Juno when he's nonverbal, they're at the HCPD for this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings!!  
> -mentions of alchoholism  
> -mentions of domestic abuse  
> -panic attack

**_Rita_ **

The first time it happens with Rita, it’s unsurprising. It’s been building up in him for weeks. Getting quieter, or shutting down easier every time Diamond would get angry about something, his energy has gone down easier, he’s been eating less. Rita always asks him if he needs some food, asks if he’s eaten today. Normally, he would snap and say that he is fine, and the food she brings always tastes like shit anyways. He’d feel horrible, and apologize at some point. 

Today, he doesn’t even get the option to be an asshole. Not like that, anyway. He’s sure he could find a million other ways to be a bitch, but he’d rather not. 

He strides across the room, to sit down at his desk. Today should be an okay day to get all quiet. He’s just researching. He’s just mulling over some files, he doesn’t need to talk to anyone. Someone says a quick hello to him, he just waves passively, before getting into his work.

Rita, a few moments later, sits down at her own desk, and says a very shrill, “Hello, Mista Steel! How’s your mornin’ goin’?”

He clenches his jaw at the sound. He didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, not that he ever does. He tries to ignore her, and continues to work. He has a lot to get done. Captain Hijikata keeps him busy, which he’s glad for. He’s an asshole. A fucking horrible boss, and a worse person. Still, Juno does his best to work around his bullshit rules, and corruption.

“Mista Steel?” Rita says, like she’s been trying to get his attention for a while. Juno looks up at her, and immediately regrets it. She’s got that damned look on her face that she always gets when Juno comes in after he’d gone on a bender, has a big fight with Diamond, or got high right before. She looks worried. It makes him want to run away, or scream in her face that she has no damn right to look at him like that.

He can’t ignore her when she gets that face. Not just because of the bright pink she dyed her hair either. She also won’t let him. Not unless, he says out loud, “ _ I don’t want to talk about it.” _ or even, “ _ Just leave me alone.” _

Right now he doesn’t have that option. He bites the inside of his cheek hard, and tenses up. “You haven’t said a single thing since you came in, Mista Steel, are you okay?”

He wants to snap that he’s fine, but he feels trapped. He can’t. Instead, he digs around for a notepad, and writes:  _ I can’t talk right now,  _ before shoving it onto Rita’s desk. 

She reads it quickly, with a confused look on her face. “Oh, ya lost your voice?” She asks.

He shakes his head. She cocks hers. “Takin’ a vow of silence or somethin’?” 

He growls, too annoyed to humor her. She whistles in response. “Well, someones grouchy.” Juno hates that more than he hates himself for just a moment, which is really, very impressive. He’d applaud her for it, if he were a different lady, if he had the energy maybe.

“Well, why can’t you talk, Mista Steel?” She hands him the notepad again. 

He scrubs a hand down his face, and scribbles down:  _ I just can’t. _ He doesn’t have a reason. His vocal chords didn’t get screwed up, he didn’t lose his voice, he just can’t. His voice is locked in his chest, like it sprung a trap. That was never a good enough excuse for Sarah way back then, and it wouldn’t be good enough for Rita now. It’s frustrating. So frustrating. 

She doesn’t give him another confused look. Instead, she says, “Are you okay?”

Part of him relaxes. A part that he didn’t know he’d tensed. He writes:  _ I’m fine. I just want to work. _

And that’s all it takes. She smiles, says a quick, “Tap me on the shoulder or throw something if you need me. I’m right here for you Mista Steel.”

After a moment or two of much-appreciated silence, Rita speaks up again. “Y’know, I heard when some people get like this, they use sign language to communicate. It seems a lot easier than having to use a notepad everytime, and I could teach you, if-”

He growls at her again, and she clams up. He doesn’t want to learn goddamn sign language right now, he doesn’t even have the capacity to  _ speak _ , let alone learn from Rita, who would probably scream and try to have fun or make light of it the entire time. He’s too damn tired, and too stressed out to even think of doing something like that. He would snap at her if he could. 

Normally, he would have taken the day off for this, tried to get a lot of paperwork done at home. This time, Diamond was in a bad mood, not that he can blame them. Juno’s almost always in a bad mood, so who is he to judge. There’s a difference between their bad moods, though. Juno got snarky, and goaded them into it. Diamond got violent. Slaps across the face, bruises and fractured ribs. Stings worse on his heart than on his skin, if he’s being honest. 

He can’t be with them when he’s like this. He can’t. They’re mad at him, and as much as he loves them, part of him is so terrified of it, of them. He doesn’t want to hear them yell at him like they always do when he gets quiet like this.  _ “Stop giving me the silent treatment, Juno! I know you can talk, you do it all the fucking time!”, “You’re easier to deal with when you’re like this, y’know.”, “What the fuck is so horrible that you can’t even pay attention?!” _

Juno comes back to himself with Rita staring worriedly at him. He’s breathing hard, and shaking. Juno swallows, and calms down just enough to give her a glare, to which she only looks relieved. 


	3. Vespa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vespa, my wife?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warnings!!  
> -nightmares (so a bit of unreality)  
> -implied child abuse

**_Vespa_ **

Vespa is difficult to be around sometimes. She’s mean, which is fine, it’s the same kind of mean that Juno gets when things get bad. She says things she doesn’t mean, and things she does, but realizes she shouldn’t have said it out loud. Vespa reminds Juno a lot of himself.

They both have a finicky time with reality, let that anger fester inside them like a campfire caught on the grass, that panicky look in her eyes that Juno feels in himself when someone laughs a little too loud, or says something that hits a little too wrong. He doesn’t quite understand why that makes him so anxious until weeks later, until he wakes up from a nightmare sweating and crying. In his dream, Vespa had laughed at him in his mother’s voice, calling him a little monster.

When he’s done shaking, he realizes why she scares him so bad. He could say that’s the fact that she stabbed him so long ago, but if he’s honest with himself that isn’t it. She reminds him of himself, sure, but it makes it even worse when he realizes how similar it is to Sarah Steel. The similarities he sees in himself, Sarah, and Vespa all add up. 

He hates it. He never wants to see her again, and he wishes he never realized it. He wants to get far far away from her, and he hates that he feels that way. It’s stressful, and exhausting. It’s an automatic reaction that he can’t control. He knows that she’s not like that, knows that he’s not his mother, no matter how similar they are sometimes. 

Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier. He tries his best to go back to sleep, and instead tosses and turns. 

When it’s finally at a time that Juno can pretend it’s a normal time to be awake, he walks into the kitchen to try to eat something, maybe make himself some coffee. Peter always takes his tea differently, so he’ll have to ask which he wants. 

He starts to make some coffee. It’s methodical. A thing he’s done dozens of times, a thing he will do again and again. He pours cream and sugar in it, and stirs it all up with a spoon. It relaxes him a bit, the familiarity, the warm steam rising from the cup to dance on his hands. 

Juno sighs. An overreaction, that’s all it was. No matter what his dreams say, he can be safe here. Buddy says that this is their home, and it’s starting to feel that way too. He can breathe, and no one is going to hurt him for it.

“Hi, Steel.” He hears, and his breath catches. Vespa. All the comfort he’s made for himself in the last few minutes have gone out the window. He doesn’t feel like he can move. 

But he feels like he should say something. A greeting back, or a wave, but he doesn’t want to move. Instead, he watches her, keeps track of exactly where her hands are. She’s just pouring herself a bowl of cereal, but Juno feels shaky again. She sets down the box, and shoots him a look. “The hell are you looking at, Steel?” She snaps at him harshly.

He doesn’t mean to flinch, but his body does so anyway. He opens his mouth to say something, apologize, just tell her he’s being paranoid. Instead, he can’t say anything, and curls his hands close to his chest as if that will keep the panic attack in his lungs. He does _not_ want to have one in front of her. 

He takes his comms out of his pocket, and starts to type in the little notes app that Rita showed him ages ago. “Or just ignore me if you want.” She snarls. “If you have a fucking problem, that tell me.”

Juno kind of wants to cover his ears and cry, but he keeps typing. _I was watching your hands. I'm sorry,_ he writes. _I can’t talk right now._

He pushes it in her direction, and she raises an eyebrow. Thankfully, she takes it anyway, and reads it over. “What? Why?”

Juno grabs the comms out of her hands again, and starts to type once more. God, it feels stupid doing this. With Rita, he’s been doing this sort of thing with her for years, it’s comfortable, and she never even asks anymore if he replies in writing. _I had a nightmare last night. Sometimes I can’t talk when that stuff happens._

She still looks confused for a moment, before a sudden understanding passes over her face. “Oh.” she gestures awkwardly around her. “Do you… uh, need anything?”

Juno lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he held. He just shakes his head, and gestures to his coffee. He picks it up, and walks to the living room. For a second or two she stares at him, but eventually eats her cereal and goes about normally.

Juno is thankful for that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> give me validation owo


	4. Buddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> buddy's turn, this ones shorter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings:  
> -juno has little a panic response   
> -mentions of bugs, i know some people aren't crazy about those fellas

**_Buddy_ **

Their conversations come and go easily. Buddy is good at talking and she knows it. She knows how to make Juno feel comfortable, safe. He relaxes around her, and she feels pride and some sort of warmth when she sees it happen. The two of them joke and laugh, becoming fast friends, as Juno can seem to do. 

Sure, he’s snarky and catty, but even she has to admit that he has some sort of magnetism that draws people in. It could be the difficulty of getting to know him on such a personal level, or it could be the scars of promised secrets, for all she knows, it could just be that he’s pretty. She’s glad they’ve met. It’s nice to get to know him, feel some sort of parental responsibility. 

She doesn’t plan to let him know that she feels parental towards him at times. He’s already had a mother, and seems to have had some very unhappy experiences with her. She would never put him in such a position. 

“Ugh, they sound horrible.” He wrinkles his nose.

Buddy laughs. “I agree, darling. Nowadays you can only find them on Gliese, but mosquitos are the most troublesome little monsters, I’ll tell you that.”

Juno’s gets quiet, and Buddy can feel the jovial energy dissipate in a moment. “Juno?” She tries, “Is there something wrong, darling?”

He takes a shaky breath, and squeezes his arms around his chest. He nods, but doesn’t say anything.

“Darling, are you sure? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She reaches out slowly, makes sure he can see, to steady him at the elbow. 

Another shaky breath, another nod. They’d been talking on his bed, they got caught up when she had asked him a simple question. He grabs the notebook on his nightstand, and starts to scribble something on it. _Don’t say_ _little monster around me, please?_ He writes. 

“Of course, darling.” She concedes immediately, growing increasingly worried, a little more so when he scribbles out the words until it's illegible. “Is that why you aren’t speaking with me, love?”

This time he just nods mutely. “That’s alright, darling, is there anything you’d like me to do?”

Juno just shrugs. He seems to still be tense, waiting for something. His body is stiff, and his anxiety is so palpable it almost seeps into Buddy’s own skin. “Well, as I was saying before, you can usually keep some mosquitos off with some spray that they simply hand out on Gliese.”

_ They must be pretty small. _ Juno writes, and Buddy laughs. 

“Oh no, love, don’t be silly. They’re enormous. About the size of your torso.”

Juno relaxes slowly, less waiting for something to happen, and just trying to interact with the conversation. She can be patient, it’s no bother. 

They continue like that for a long time, Juno writing down his replies and such, with Buddy replying out loud. He slowly seems to come back to himself, monosyllabic words at first, then a few at a time. Soon he’s making snarky comments and complaints as he normally would. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i eat comments. they r food


	5. Jet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this one's also super short holy hell, it's not even 350 words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warnings: doesn't seem like there are any?? please correct me if i'm wrong

**_Jet_ **

Jet Siquliak is not inexperienced with nonverbal people. In his travels, he’s met a few. There have been people who can’t speak for their damaged vocal chords, those who can’t hear and prefer not to speak. He’s learned to speak with his hands and learned to adapt with it. It's always nice to learn something new in order to help others.

He’s never met anyone who’s inability to speak simply appears at times. It’s strange, yes, but not the strangest thing he’s ever seen. In the grand scheme of things, he has seen much worse things.

So when Buddy tells him in privacy of Juno’s situation at brief times, it isn’t anything he’s shocked by. Jet has no problems with his silence. It is a bit unnerving to see such a talkative lady clam up so thoroughly. Normally he speaks his mind easily, let any of it be known. 

This morning, Juno comes into the kitchen, where Jet is making some soup. “Would you like some, Juno?” Jet asks, to which he nods quietly. “Did you sleep adequately?”

Juno nods once again, still saying nothing. That’s perfectly fine, Jet isn’t a very talkative man. Once the soup is done, he places it in front of Juno. He’s been making an effort lately to say ‘please’, and ‘thank you’. Rita says that he’s trying to be more appreciative with people, and she seems very appreciative of that. Still he says nothing to recognize that he’d been given something, instead, he gives a tired, tense smile up at Jet.

That’s how Jet knows for sure. Still, it doesn’t seem to be a problem whatsoever. Juno doesn’t need to talk if he doesn’t want to, and if he wanted to say something, Jet is sure he could bring out a pen and paper. Write it out on his comms maybe. He doesn’t interfere. Juno seems perfectly content to eat his soup. Maybe he will talk later, but it isn’t a priority currently. 

Either way, Juno seems relieved when Jet doesn’t talk either, just starts to eat his own soup.


	6. Peter Nureyev

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juno and Peter nonverbal cuddle sesh uwu

**_Peter Nureyev_ **

It doesn’t happen often, that Juno stops talking. Enough that Peter can tell the signs of when it’s coming, knows to keep his pad of doodling on him just in case. He doesn’t mind that much. He loves to hear Juno’s voice, of course, but this is just another way to communicate with him. Juno just needs a bit more care when he’s like this. Peter could never be unhappy about that. Comfort and the attempt to put his mind at ease could never be troublesome. 

Juno had clammed up earlier over  _ something _ . It isn’t always that Peter knows what set it off, or even that it was anything specific. Sometimes the lady gets overwhelmed or stressed enough that he can’t speak. Anxiety and the strong weight of his depression on his shoulders. Peter could never blame him for that. 

Right now, they’re laying in bed, snuggled close to one another. Nureyev has an arm slung gently over his tummy, while his long legs are tucked under Junos shorter ones. He warms Peter to his bones. “Did you like when we went to Venus?”

Juno taps once on his arm, that which means “ _yes_ ”. His other hand is between the pillows, and where it holds Peter’s face to rub his thumb over his cheekbone repetitively. Peter hears a laugh in his voice that he didn’t put there. “Oh you did? Well, are you ready to admit you liked the festival of love as well?”

Juno lets out a soft, fond, but exasperated sigh. He taps twice for “no”. Peter rolls his eyes. A habit he’s been picking up from Juno. Eye-rolling had never been prevalent before him. How silly, the things Peter picks up just from loving him. 

“Oh you’re so stubborn. I hardly even had to convince you to celebrate it with me.” Juno huffs through his nose, an implication that he would laugh, were he in a different state of mind with that smile playing on his lips. “Would you like to go try and eat something?” Peter asks, he always tries to make sure Juno still takes care of himself when he’s like this. 

Juno taps twice on his arm again. “Alright, water?” Taps twice again.

“Is there anything you do need?” He asks. 

One tap, Peter waits for another, but it doesn’t come. He starts to list off things that he could want. 

“A stream?” Two taps.

“One of those toys you and Rita play with?” Two taps.

“Some music?” Two taps.

Peter wracks his brain for something that could help him right now. Juno sighs, sounding a bit frustrated. He starts to trace letters onto his arm. It isn’t something he does every time he gets quiet like this. Peter tries to keep his question perfectly yes or no, or get him a notepad. Maybe a page from his doodling book if it’s close by. This works in a pinch if they’re too tired to move, or Juno isn’t in a state to write.

His fingers trace out, “ _ talk” _ . “You want me to talk?” Peter asks. 

Juno taps once. “How about a story about the last time I was on Neptune?” Another tap as he relaxes. 

Peter smiles, and starts to tell him about it. Juno just seems to listen to him speak, tracing abstract patterns along his arm. No words, no secret language they’ve made together, simply his skin touching his. It feels warm, soft, gentle. 

Peter never tells Juno he loves him when he’s like this. Juno knows that Peter loves him, and he knows the lady has some anxiety that Peter doesn’t know Juno loves him. He never wants to put pressure on him to force himself to speak, or even write down words like that when their yes and no system works just fine. He waits until Juno can speak again until he tells him he loves him. 

He’s excited for that, excited to tell him that again and again, and hear Juno say it back to him in that weirdly rough voice he always gets after not talking like this for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just think they r cute and adorable


	7. RITA 2!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> god i wish this was a podfic or smth so i could say "rita says she's proud of you asmr"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again no trigger warnings i can think of.

**_Rita_ **

  
  


There’s a knock on Rita’s door, that she hears cut through the noise of her stream, and then immediately, “Hey Rita? You’re fired.” She immediately pauses the stream.

“Come in, Mista Steel!” She calls, and he does so easily, closing the door behind him. He sits down next to her on the bed, and looks at the screen. 

He takes in the stream, and says, “What’re you watching?”

She smiles at him. Maybe it’s one of those days. Sometimes Juno just wants to hang out with Rita, just needs her. “It’s The Tale of a Grasshopper and Her Mother. I ain’t seen any grasshoppers yet, though, which is real disappointin’, cause that’s why started watching it!”

Juno snorts. “Yeah, it just seems like some streams are weird like that. Do you think it’s some kinda shitty metaphor?”

Rita’s eyes go wide. “Oh, it better not be, boss! I did not watch half this movie, lookin’ for a grasshopper, when they just wanted to talk fancy!” Rita starts to look up the summary for the stream, hoping they’re not trying to pull one over on her. 

Juno laughs. It’s a pretty laugh, out of practice and scratchy. She’s seen Ransom swoon and melt at the noise. “I uh, actually wanted to ask you about something else?” He swallows at the end, betraying his nerves. 

“Go ahead, boss!”

He plays with his fingers anxiously. “Do you remember a long time ago, one of the first times I went, uh, Jet calls it nonverbal around you?” 

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that, boss.” She admits. 

He huffs a laugh. “Yeah, you’re right. So one of the first times I “went nonverbal”,” He puts air quotes around it. “You told me that some people use sign language when they can’t talk, which I knew. You offered to teach it to me. At the time I got really mad at you, but N- Ransom said he would learn it too if I did, and Jet already knows it. I was wondering if that offer still stands?”

She could  _ scream  _ with happiness and pride. She almost does too, does her best to keep it at a very loud, “Awww! Mista Steel!”

“Don’t make me regret it,” He jokes. 

Rita jumps up, makes sure he can see the motion for it to reject it before, and wraps him up with a hug. He immediately reciprocates. He’s a good hugger when he gets around to it. He never used to want to do so, but lately he’s gotten much more open to touch. That’s a good thing, since Rita’s a real good hugger too, and he deserves them.  


“I’m so proud of you, MIsta Steel!” She tells him. 

Juno smiles, and squeezes her in the hug. “Couldn’t have gotten here without you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, i love comments! i eat that shit up. it's my sustenance!


End file.
